The growing popularity of alternative approaches to conditions such as diabetes, inflammation, cancers, and neurological diseases using herbal extracts or other natural products in lieu of synthetic pharmaceuticals has focused attention on the possibility of deriving useful compositions from a variety of sources. A large number of biologically active compounds are present in fungi. For example, the Handbook of Industrial Mycology, An, Z., ed. (2005) 22:75-77 notes the presence of an insulin mimic in Pseudomassaria sp and anticancer and antiulcer agent in Aspergillus. 
Mushrooms—i.e., macrofungi that have a distinctive fruiting body large enough to be seen with the naked eye and picked by hand (Lindequist, U., et al., eCAM (2005) 2:285-289 quoting Chang, S. T., et al., Mycologist (1992) 6:64-65)—are also sources for useful compounds. The Lindequist article is a review entitled “The Pharmacological Potential of Mushrooms” and mentions that mushrooms are mainly of the genus Basidiomycete, although some species of Ascomycetes belong to mushrooms.
The review article by Lindequist discloses that there are a number of antibacterial and antifungal mushrooms, antiviral mushrooms, antitumor mushrooms, mushrooms that are immunomodulators, components that have antitumor activity, cytostatic activity, antiallergic activity, antiatherogenic activity and hypoglycemic activity as well as activities that are anti--inflammatory and hepatoprotective. Specific compounds contained in certain mushrooms have been identified and are described in this article.
There has also been considerable interest in herbal medicines that contain peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) modulators. Among these compounds is dehydrotrametenolic acid. This is a triterpenoid of the formula

DHTA is known to occur in mushrooms as disclosed by Li, W. L., et al., J. Ethnopharmacol (2004) 92:1-21.
Lanostane triterpenes have also been found in mushrooms, including Basidiomycetes as disclosed by Zamuner, M. L. M., et al., J. Braz. Chem. Soc. (2005) 16:1-9. Various biologically active compounds from the fungus Laetiporus sulphureus have also been described by Yoshikawa, K., et al., Chem. Pharm. Bull. (2001) 49:327-329. These include a benzofuran glycoside and a C10 acetylenic acid. Methanolic extracts from Basidiomycete mushrooms have been shown to be cytotoxic to murine cancer cell lines by Tomasi, S., et al., Pharmazie (2004) 59:290-293.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,643,884 to Glycomed describes a specific triterpenoid derivatives that have a multiplicity of medicament properties.
These modulators are considered to treat various disorders including hyperlipidemia as described by Huang, T. H.-W., et al., Basic and Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology (2005) 96:3-14. These compounds are also reported to protect hepatic cells against the cytotoxicity of cadmium by Miura, N., et al., Mol. Pharmacol. (1999) 56:1324-1328.
Dehydrotrametenolic acid (DHTA) is also reported to induce pre-adipocyte differentiation and sensitize animal models of non-insulin-dependent diabetes to insulin by Sato, M., et al., Biol. Pharmaceut. Bull. (2002) 25:81-86. DHTA also is reported to inhibit the growth of H. ras so as to induce apoptosis in transformed rat2 cells by Kang, H. M., et al., Life Sci. (2005) August 18th. DHTA is found in several polypores including Laetiporus sulphureus. Other triterpenoids have also been shown to induce apoptosis as disclosed in Haridas, V., et al., PNAS (2001) 98:5821-5826.
Other reports have indicated that triterpenes from L. sulphureus may induce apoptosis in HL60 human myeloid leukemia cells (León, F., et al., J. Nat. Prod. (2004) 67:2008-2011. Other compounds from L. sulphureus include hemolytic lectins Mancheno, J., et al., Acta Crystallogr. Sect. D. Biol. Crystal. (2004) 60:1139-1141, Tateno, H., et al., J. Biol. Chem. (2003) 278:40455-40463. Various saccharides and glycosides have also been isolated from this fungus (Alquini, G., et al., FEMS Microbiol. Let. (2004) 230:47-52, Yoshikawa, K., et al., Chem. Pharm. Bull. (Tokyo) (2001) 49:327-329. Triterpenes are also known to be components of the natural defense systems of plants against herbivores and pathogens. Some of the triterpene defense compounds are produced naturally by plants, for example, as disclosed by Agrawal, A. A., et al., Blackwell-Synergy-Eco Letters (2002) 5:377-385.
In addition, U.S. patent publication 2005/0238655 describes antiviral properties of extracts of certain Polyporus fungi, especially with respect to orthopox virus. The antiviral compounds are apparently prepared by extraction from the mycelium rather than obtained from culture filtrate.
It has now been found that when Basidiomycetes are cultured under suitable conditions, the concentrated filtered culture medium can be applied directly to the skin in small quantities and is able to effect amelioration of symptoms of a variety of chronic conditions including pain, fatigue, diabetes and neurological disorders, and to effect treatment of certain tumors. In addition, the concentrate may be diluted to increase crop yields and induce systemic acquired resistance in plants. The concentrate represents an efficient way to supply a composition that has the effects of liquid compost factor as disclosed in PCT publication WO 2004/006643.